


Blade

by Cumbermarvel (UglyJackal)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Ironstrange if you squint, M/M, Whump, stephen strange whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-31
Updated: 2018-07-31
Packaged: 2019-06-19 13:25:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15510840
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UglyJackal/pseuds/Cumbermarvel
Summary: What if Tony and Stephen's roles in the fight on Titan were swapped?





	Blade

The repulsors knocked Thanos back, though the mad titan was not to be disheartened - he was there on the planet of rubble for a reason, and he would be damned if he didn’t get what he wanted. He raised his fist with a snarl, gathering the energy that he needed to send a swirling purple mass of black hole firing back towards the Man of Iron.

Tony swung up his arm, a shield blooming on his arm like a metal flower. The surge of power hit him, its force pushing him back, feet skidding in the dust, trying desperately to grip onto something. As he dug the shield in the earth, he managed to slow himself down, and he took the chance to swing away from the beam of energy, throwing it over his shoulder like it was nothing. He used his jet blasters to fly up back to Thanos, bringing his foot out and swinging it into the titan’s hand like a club, pinning his fist to the ground as he brought his own hand round, a metal extension swarming round his arm. The extension connected with Thanos’ head with a sickening crunch.

The titan breathed heavily, almost amused, and wiped a finger against the impact. He saw the blood smeared on his finger and snorted, looking up at Tony. ‘All that for a drop of blood,’ he said. He brought his hand up sharp, flipping Tony over onto the ground.

He loomed over him and the fear caught in Tony’s stomach. As the punches reigned down on his face, the sorcerer was blinking back into consciousness, shaking. He pushed himself to his hands and knees, hearing the fight going on behind him and knowing what he would have to do. He flinched as he saw Thanos pick up Tony and use a beam of power from the purple stone to swat him away like a fly.

Tony grunted at the impact and sent a beam of fire from his repulsor back to Thanos. But it didn’t phase him, if anything it seemed like an inconvenience to him as he walked forwards. Tony got to his feet, his nanobots scuttling back from his skin like frightened beetles. He used his other hand to fire the same beam as his other hand. But Thanos just kept walking forwards.

The connection between Thanos’ fist and Tony’s head sent the nanobots scurrying away, leaving his head exposed. As Thanos slammed his fist into Tony’s, the mechanic unsheathed a blade from his armour and sent it flying towards the titan’s stomach.

That was his first mistake.

The blade was snapped off and sent flying back into-

Stephen.

Tony had somehow ended up several feet away from where he had been standing in front of the titan. He was then laying on his side, staring at the blood dripping from Stephen’s lower stomach, where his own blade was slowly killing him.

Thanos pushed the sorcerer back until he collapsed down on a pile of rubble, staring up at the mad titan. Mouth agape, eyes wide and pained, hands shaking so hard that it was difficult to believe that it was an involuntary reaction.

‘Give me the stone, wizard,’ Thanos snarled, twisting the blade sharply.

Stephen shouted out as the pain overtook him, filling his nerves and his bones to the brim. He stared back into the titan’s eyes, whole galaxies of green and blue meeting rock pools of dirty brown.

‘The stone!’ Thanos roared, spit flying into Stephen’s face, the blade twisting even further.

The sorcerer didn’t make a move to sacrifice the stone, his only reaction was to scream again.

‘Fine,’ the titan said, ‘then you will die for your stubbornness.’

‘I am more than prepared to do that,’ Stephen spat through gritted teeth as the blade was pulled from the cage of his body.

Thanos leaned back, the blade in his hand, ready to use it once more. But then he was knocked off balance as a beam of the sun hit his shoulder. He looked up and snarled as he saw Tony, one palm extended towards him. He reared around, ready to attack the mechanic, but then-

‘Stop!’ the sorcerer cried, choking on his own breath as blood dripped from his mouth. ‘Spare his life… and I… I will give you the stone.’

Thanos looked back at the injured man, laying there in the dust and the rubble pathetically. ‘No tricks?’

Unable to speak, Stephen just shook his head wearily. He could see the Guardians and Peter looking at him in shock, all of them would blame him for what came next, they would wish they had just let him bleed to death. He raised his hand, his shaking hand, and summoned the stone. Such a small green rock, just one of the six causes of all of this pain and suffering. He sent it floating up to the gauntlet, and when it was locked into its place, he collapsed back against the debris, vision swimming.

He heard the whoosh of the portal as Thanos left, heard Quill shouting, heard Tony rush towards him. Felt the hands on his shoulders, on his cheeks. ‘Strange? Come on, buddy, you’re okay, you’re gonna be fine,’ Tony murmured to him. There was a burning sensation around the hole in his stomach, and he whimpered, the sound drawn from his throat without his consent. It prompted Tony to make a hushing noise, hands gentle on his cheek as fingers rubbed against his jaw. ‘Alright, alright,’ he said, ‘all I’m doing it cauterising this wound, okay? We don’t want you bleeding out.’

‘Just let me die,’ Stephen whispered, reaching up a shaking hand to grasp at Tony’s wrist.

‘You must have hit your head real hard if you think for one second that I would allow that to happen,’ the mechanic said. The burning stopped, though the dull ache of the stabbing itself continued to scratch at his insides.

‘You didn’t have to do that,’ the sorcerer said wearily.

‘Yeah, and you didn’t have to give up the stone for my life, but here we are,’ Tony shot back.

Stephen said nothing, his heart sinking down into his stomach. Ashy remnants of half of the universe billowed through his mind, as he realised that Tony had gone to the effort of saving his life, only for the snap that would echo throughout the universe to sweep him away with half of it.

**Author's Note:**

> Buy me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/stephenstrangestan


End file.
